World University Games Results

The fall marathon season has not yet begun. Major American road racing is on hiatus. Track and field is gearing up for the world championships, which begin next week. Besides the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s, there may not be a quieter week of racing in the calendar year than this one. Thankfully, a single track meet – the World University Games in China – tided distance running fans over until the championships, when the action on the track will be anything but quiet.

World University Games – Shenzhen, ChinaIn the final track meet of the year heading into Daegu, some of the best university students from around the world squared off in Shenzhen. Though most of the eligible runners from the United States are well into their fall cross country training, a few made appearances, as did a few NCAA runners competing for other countries.

The women’s middle distance races produced the most elite performances of the meet, with Ukraine and Russia playing predictably big roles in the results. Olha Zavhorodnya of Ukraine had to run a personal best to get the win in the 800m, but her 1:59.56 was good enough to hold off Russia’s Elena Kofanova, who ran 1:59.94. The University of Oregon’s Anne Kesselring, running for Germany, was seventh in a distant 2:05.33. The women’s 1500m was equally competitive, as Asili Alptekin of Turkey had to run 4:05.56 to win. Ukraine’s Anna Mishchenko, who is a fixture on the Diamond League circuit, was second in 4:05.91. Ekateriana Gorbunova of Russia is a 15:19 runner over 5,000m, but stepped down in distance here to run a fine 4:06.16 for third. Turkey also got wins in the women’s steeplechase and 5000m from Binnaz Uslu. Uslu ran 9:33.50 to win the steeple, crushing the field by more than 10 seconds. Russian Ludmina Kuzmina was second in 9:44.77. Uslu’s 15:41.15 win in the 5000m was less impressive in terms of finishing time, but just as in the steeple, she easily ran away from a quality field.

The men’s races featured less star power up front than did the women’s races. Still, Suguru Osako of Japan ran 28:42.83 to win the 10,000m in hot and humid conditions, and Great Britain’s Andy Vernon took a step in the right direction by winning the 5000m in 14:00.06, gaining some valuable championship racing experience in the process. The men’s 800m was the most anticipated event for American fans, as the final featured Casimir Loxsom of Penn State, Ryan Martin of UC Santa Barbara, and Fred Samoei of Alabama. Yet none could match Australia’s Lachlan Renshaw, who clocked 1:46.36 for the win. The NCAA runners, perhaps fading slightly after long seasons, struggled. Samoei, running for Kenya, was third in 1:46.72. Americans Loxsom (fourth in 1:46.73) and Martin (eighth and last in 1:51.89) will look forward to some much-deserved rest.

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